Oh, Austere
by PancakeBunnie
Summary: Little Roderich doesn't believe in fun. Who needs to run around and play when you have music? But playful Elizaveta changes his mind...


_~Oh, Austere~_

"Elizabeta, darling, are you ready?"  
"Coming, Papa!"  
A small girl with long brown hair and bright green eyes, around the age of six, came bounding down the stairs to her father, positively beaming.  
His smile faded to a frown at her outfit of tattered old shorts and a stained shirt, "...Dear, I told you to get dressed up for the party."  
Elizabeta looked down, examining her clothes. "Why, is there something wrong?"  
Her father sighed. "Go back upstairs and put on something nice."  
...It happened like this three times before he dragged her back up and pulled her into a stuffy, scratchy dress, fit-for-a-princess with all its bows and baubles. It was a violent shade of pink that made Elizabeta want to vomit, which she nearly did just to escape it. The dress was two sizes too tight and frilled out at the end, looking disgustingly like a tutu. She felt sick already, with her perfectly combed hair and this horrible new dress (if you could call it that- it looked more like a pile of all sorts of frilly things Liz hated, thrown together by someone like her mother, who tried to convince Liz to wear it by saying that it was "sprinkled with a dash of glitter, because you could never have too much," with a sickening wink).  
It took much kicking and screaming before Elizabeta stopped fighting her parents over the horrid lacey dress, and she now sat resolutely angry in the back of the car as her father drove to the "friendly gathering" they were to attend for her father's business.  
Elizabeta did not see why she needed to go, but apparantly it was "manditory" her father go and "only proper" that the whole family attend. So it was only begrudgingly that she allowed her father to drag her to that frilly prissy old party with ladies in pearls and flouncy gowns, and men all in suits, and all of the sweets well out of her reach. She hoped, at least, that there would be someone there to play with. If not, it would always be fun to try and explore the mansion and its many maze-like gardens...  
Finally arriving at the party on the mansion's grounds, Elizabeta's father made her walk in and hold his hand like a good girl, but once they had been greeted by the wealthy homeowners, Liz was free to roam the grounds as she pleased.  
Liz, in her tight frilly dress, sort of waddled in to the party, which was "strictly formal" and "to be held on the pristine grounds of the Edelstein Manor," whatever that meant (she'd heard her father mention it earlier). The party didn't seem at all like how her mother described, for instead of words like "enjoyable" and "simply delightful!" there came to mind some of the words Liz used to desrcibe most adults: "fussy," "stressful," "serious," "prissy," "austere," (she'd heard that one in a movie once) and- worst of all- "clean."  
The glorious mansion and its perfectly-landscaped ground stretched as far and wide as Liz could see. The style, she could tell, was supposed to be sleek and somewhat modern, but to her the home seemed to emanate a sort of cold, despite the beautifully warm spring day. But the grounds were lovely: there were twisted cobblestoned paths leading through bunches of bushes of roses, and tinkling fountains filled with pristine water, and fancy-looking sculptures surrounding the area; beyond the gardens there were rolling hills, which seemed to unfold for acres on end, their long grass swaying in the wind; and around the very edge of the property was, of course, a frightening forest- but in all of the warmth from the sun and the chatter of the crowds it didn't seem nearly as intimidating to Liz as all of the strictly-neat adults surrounding her.  
There wasn't much for children to do at fussy adult parties like this, so Liz contented herself with wandering around and poking at peoples' feet, then running away unseen. She also decided that she no longer needed most of her clothing; Liz tore the tutu part of the skirt from her dress, and found a way to remove several other bows, sequins, and lacey or frilly parts.  
Liz wandered around, a bit happier now in her no-longer-dress, looking for something to do. Until- she saw it. The food table! Jackpot! A long row of every goodie she ever could have imagined and more; everything looked sweet and sugary and delicious. She ran over as fast as she could and stood up on her tippy-toes to get some cookies or cupcakes or /something/- but she just couldn't reach. She jumped for them, she stretched, she stood as tall on her tippy-toes as she could, but /just couldn't reach./  
Frowning, she stood back to observe the challenge of acquiring a cupcake or two. Finally, the answer came to her! Liz scooted around the edge of the table and grabbed hold of the tablecloth, ready to pull-  
"What do you think you're doing!?" came an indignant voice behind her.  
"Huh?" Liz turned around; for a moment she thought her father had caught her. She looked up expecting him-... and then looked slowly down until she found herself facing a very austere-looking boy around the same age as herself. His dark near-black hair was slicked back perfectly, so that all but one slightly curled hair at the front was laid neatly back in place; his eyes were also very dark, of a shimmery sort of blue. Liz gave him a friendly smile, although she was not sure he had ever made one himself. "Oh, hi there! My name's Liz!"  
The boy gave her a sharp, piercing sort of look with his deep blue eyes. "Well, /Liz-/ I daresay you were about to crash down that entire table!"  
"Wha-? Oh no, I just wanted to pull down some cookies-"  
"I hardly think that is an appropriate way to get them," He frowned at her disapprovingly.  
She shrugged and reached for the tabelcloth again.  
"Did I not just tell you not to-"  
"Yeah, yeah..." She cut him off.  
Liz let go of the tablecloth, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. How was she supposed to get a cookie with him around!? Maybe if she could distract him for a moment...  
"So what's your name?" She edged back toward the table.  
The boy swelled himself up and stood tall and proud before telling her in a stuffy, haughty voice, "I am Roderich Edelstein, age six, eldest son of the owners of this maginificent household, and I-"  
Liz stopped paying attention, letting him ramble on about himself and his rich parents and their many achievements. She simply nodded with a "Yeah," or "Mhm," every once in a while, all the time scooting closer to the table. Finally, she had the cloth in her grasp again, and-  
"Hey! I saw that! You get away from that table now-"  
But too late for Roderich; Liz gave a sharp tug and the cloth slid from the table, sending all of its contents skyward. There were shrieks and squeals as the proper gentleman and ladies rushed away to save their expensive outfits from the flying food. All except Roderich, who stood quite still with shock. Cupcakes, cookies, drinks, sweets of all sorts went soaring into the air- Liz caught several cookies in what remained of the skirt of her dress and smiled contentedly, while the entirety of the punch dumped over a very affronted-looking Roderich, the bowl left sitting on his head like a bicycle helmet. Frosting and chocolate and leftover drinks spattered the both of them, and anyone near.  
For a moment, everything seemed still. Then the hushed whisperings started up among the ladies who had been watching. Roderich looked down at his now completely-ruined beautiful new little purple suit-and-cape, then slowly back up at Liz. He gasped and sputtered punch and stared at her with a sort of rage she had not thought possible.  
"S-So sorry- didn't mean to get you dirty- aheheh-" Liz smiled nervously, backing away slowly...  
"My father will hear about this!" Roderich shrieked, and Liz ran off.  
A few minutes later, Liz sat giggling at the edge of the garden with her cookies. Silly Roderich, tearing the tablecloth off seemed to work perfectly fine for getting herself cookies! I mean, he did get covered in punch... but she was covered in cupcake icing, so it was even, right?  
Content and smiley with a tummy full of cookies, but still covered in frosting, Liz hiked back up to the crowded center of the party. She wove her way through the dancing adults' legs trying to find Roderich, feeling she should probably apologize for whatever trouble she had gotten him in with his parents.  
Finally, she spotted him: now in a new clean suit, standing at the edge of the dancefloor, watching all of the party guests with a look of mild interest on his face. Liz began to run over to him- he saw her, raised an eyebrow, and disappeared into the mingling crowd.  
"Oh, no! Come back!" Liz chased after him. Liz pushed her way through the dancing crowd, as Roderich dove behind a large group of people. Roderich wound his way around all the flouncy dresses; whereas Liz suddenly found herself trapped underneath one. There was a great high-pitched scream from the lady above as Liz ran from the folds of frills after a snickering Roderich. Ducking behind another pair of dancing legs, Roderich winked at Liz and walked purposefully away into the mansion. She pursued as quickly as she could, finally breaking free of the crowd much less gracefully than Roderich, and finding her way inside.  
"Roderich, wait up!" Liz called through the great front doors, but she caught her breath as she took in the great sight of the place. "Whoa..." Liz gaped around at the gigantic glimmering white-and-gold room she was standing in. Everything seemed to glow from the ceiling to the floor, and it all was a very blinding shade of white. Staring around the room, her eyes finally rested upon Roderich, standing haughtily at the foot of the towering golden staircase, with that same austere- almost challenging- eyebrow-raised look on his not-so-childish face.  
"You called?" His voice was almost taunting.  
"What...?" Liz stood wide-eyed, confused. "Oh! Oh yes- I, uh, I'm sorry I got the food all over you-"  
"Quite alright," Roderich responded, and on that simple note he dashed away around the corner. Liz stood for a moment staring at where he'd disappeared.  
"H-Hey! Wait up!" She shouted after him, following him down another equally-bright hallway lined with ceiling-high windows with billowy silk curtains. Ignoring her, he walked purposefully to the end, darting between the silky curtains lining the walls as he disappeared into another room. Liz ran all the way to the end of the hallway and into the room he'd left for.  
What she heard was not another taunting sneer from Roderich, but music, beautiful music unlike any she'd heard before. Liz walked slowly into the large near-empty room, looking around for the source of the sound. The beautiful spring day and chatter from all the lords and ladies drifted in through the open window, which waved the silky curtains toward a dazzling grand piano, where now sat Roderich.  
The small boy did not look up from his music when Liz entered the room; she near tip-toed, trying to walk over to him without scaring him off again. Liz crept up behind him and sat silently beside him on the piano bench. He gave her no acknowledgement but a simple nod of the head, and continued playing his beautiful symphony, closing his eyes to better listen to the music and swaying slightly in time with the melody.  
Liz watched him with rapt attention, quite curious as to where he'd learned to play so well. She waited for him to finish, and the symphony finally ended with a last soft, ringing note. Roderich sighed as if content, and turned to look at Liz as if he had just noticed her presence.  
"That was beautiful," Liz smiled at him. She thought she almost noticed it- the ghost of a return smile, sneaking across his usually strict face.  
"Why, thank you." He gave a tiny uncaring nod in her direction as if this praise were nothing, but looked immensely proud of himself nonetheless. "I wrote it myself. Father taught me to play."  
"Wow, cool!" Liz gasped in admiring awe, running her fingers along the keys, which made a not-so-pretty sound.  
Roderich squealed at this, slapping her hand away. "Don't touch! That isn't how you play, and you're still covered in cake."  
"Sorry..." Liz looked down.  
"Yes..." He gave her a scathing look, "Very well..."  
"C-Could you show me how?" She smiled.  
"Sure, sure, just- clean up-"  
Liz wiped her hands on her pants and smiled up at Roderich. He sighed, "That will do..." and began to play her a song.  
"Wait, wait!" shouted Liz, "I can't do it that fast, show me again!"  
Roderich played the first note perfectly. Liz simply poked the keys he had with a silly face. Again thinking she had seen him almost smile, Liz continued to follow each note he played until the song had finished.  
"Very well," Roderich nodded approvingly, "now do it again." This time, he did smile- but it was a wicked sort of grin.  
"B-By myself?" Liz didn't think she could remember all that!  
"Yes, by yourself!"  
"O-Okay-"  
Liz got the first note right, you had to give her that much. The rest were just a jumble of keys that were not at all coordinated. Roderich winced at each 'note' she played; after a few Liz just gave up and flopped her head on the piano.  
"I can't do it..." she whined.  
"Well of course you can't-" Roderich had started his usual rude stuffy talking down to her, but decided against it with, "Oh, sure you can, it just takes practice!" and an awkward smile.  
"Really?" she smiled back.  
"Indeed it does," he winked.  
..."How come you talk like a big-fancy-grown-up?" came an out-of-the-blue question from Liz.  
"I do not talk like a 'big fancy grown up,'" Responded an affronted-looking Roderich, "I am simply speaking properly-"  
"Are you a midget?"  
"Excuse me!?"  
"Are you like, really old, just- short...?"  
"I am six years old, just like yourself! I don't know what you're talking about-"  
"Oh yeah, 'cause a midget would have a mustache-"  
"/What!?/"  
"Nothing!" Liz giggled at her own musings about midgets.  
"I say," Roderich began, "You may be the strangest child I've ever met."  
"I could say that about you," she stared at him challengingly.  
He narrowed his eyes, "...Touche."  
..."Hehehe, tushy."  
Roderich hit his forehead with his palm, sliding off the piano bench.  
"Wha-at?" Liz slid off the bench after him.  
"Nothing, dear..." Roderich shook his head.  
Liz giggled, "Dear?"  
"Yes, dear, is there something wrong with that?" snapped back Roderich, his cheeks tinged slightly red.  
"N-Nope," squeaked a giggly Liz.  
"Good." And with that, he swept out of the room again. Liz followed after him like a puppy.  
"So," he stopped in front of the repaired snack tables and turned to Liz with a devious sort of grin, "how about we get our treats the correct way this time?"  
"And how's that?" Liz stuck up her nose at his stuffy methods; her pulling the tablecloth worked perfectly! Of course she wouldn't say that, she still felt guilty about the punch.  
"Watch and learn," he felt like adding "some manners" but it seemed a tad rude. So Roderich simply continued in his plan, it was quite simple really; he walked over to the nearest adult lady he could find and tugged a little on the hem of her dress. He then gave her a look extremely reminiscent of a homeless puppy, and asked, in his saddest sugary-coated voice, "Excuse me, Miss? I- I really want a cookie- but I can't reach the table... Could you help me?" He widened his eyes sadly.  
Squealing over the "precious child," the lady rushed over to the table and hastened to hand Roderich not one cookie, but the entire tray to split with "his adorable little friend, how sweet." Roderich grinned triumphantly at a very shocked Liz.  
They ran off a little way away from the party, resting upon a small hilltop in the yard with the platter of cookies that showed their victory. Liz was laid back in the grass casually, whereas Roderich sat upright and cross-legged, and the cookies resided between them. Liz had eaten five already and the evidence showed in the crumbs on her face; Roderich, however, took only two and made sure to clean himself up afterward.  
Roderich sighed, "Such a lovely day..."  
Liz giggled at him. "Are you really trying to talk about the weather?"  
"Well, yes-"  
"Why not something more fun?" Liz sat up.  
"Fun?" He looked at her like he'd never heard the word before in his life. "...Well what did you have in mind?"  
Liz thought for a moment, before jumping up and holding out a hand for him, "Come on."  
He took her hand and pulled himself up, brushing the dirt off. "Where are we going?"  
She didn't answer, she just took his hand and started running. Or more, trying to run while dragging him along. Roderich kept trying to ask just what on earth they were doing, but Liz kept hushing him.  
She dragged him to the top of the tallest hill she could find and sat in the grass.  
"Why- did we come- up here...?" Roderich sat beside her, panting. Apparantly he didn't run much.  
"We're gonna roll down." Liz grinned at him evilly.  
"What!?" He squealed, still somewhat breathless. "Absolutely not!"  
"Too bad!" She pulled him down next to her.  
"I hardly think this is a good idea-"  
"I do!" And with that, she laid down, hugged herself, and started rolling down the hill.  
"LIZ!" Roderich ran down the hill trying to keep up with her.  
"WOO HOO!"  
"ARE YOU CRAZY!?"  
Liz rolled the whole way to the bottom, laughing and cheering. ...Roderich tried to stay on his feet, however, he tripped and ended up rolling the last bit of the hill with Liz. She was still lying in the grass laughing, while he struggled to get to his feet.  
"Are you mad!?" Roderich stood again, checking himself for grass stains.  
Liz tilted her head and gave him a confused sort of look. "Why would I be mad?"  
"Oh, nevermind." he was still brushing off, all huffy. "Anyway, we should probably be getting back."  
"...Oh okay, whatever's cool." she smiled again and jumped up, marching back toward the party. Shaking his head, Roderich followed.  
Walking back to the noisy center of the party, Roderich paused at the edge of the dancefloor, watching all of the neatly-dressed adults waltzing around the floor together. Liz stood next to him, watching as well, but not seeing what was quite so captivating about mushy things like dancing. Liz was just about to voice this opinion, when-  
"So romantic, isn't it...?" Roderich sighed.  
Liz just stared at him as if something in his brain was broken. She swore he was a really old midget again; what six-year-old is into dancing and classical music and fussy adult parties!? What a weirdo, that Roderich...  
Roderich watched the dancers with a misty, longing sort of gaze in his eyes... Twice he furtively stole a glance at Liz, turning red immediately after as she caught him. She was very pretty, that Liz... and not at all like other girls...  
Roderich turned to Liz and asked very very quietly, "Would you maybe care to dance...?" But she didn't seem to hear, as Roderich had more asked his feet...  
"This is boring." Liz crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks frustratedly.  
Roderich looked at her, a bit hurt that she didn't answer, and thought for a moment. He left Liz at the edge of the dancefloor for a moment, and returned a minute later with a beautiful flower. Liz gave him a confused sort of look.  
With a wry sort of smile, Roderich held out the flower to her. "May I have this dance, m'lady?"  
Liz just giggled at him. "Oh, you're so funny!"  
Roderich looked around awkwardly. "I- I was serious-"  
"I can't dance!" Liz made a pouty face.  
"Oh come now, don't be silly! I'll show you." Roderich took her hand and led her onto the floor. Liz just followed. It was worth a shot, right?  
Roderich turned to her, pulling one of her hands up to his shoulder and holding the other in his, placing his opposite hand on her waist.  
"Do people really do this?" Liz asked, a bit put off by the touching.  
"Just give it a chance," Roderich tried to convince her, as he started to lead her around the floor in step with the adults.  
Liz let him have his moment before deciding dancing was totally boring and she was never doing it again. "Dancing is for adults."  
"I think it is rather entertaining." Roderich tried to support his point, blushing slightly about it.  
"Bluh." Liz made a face and stuck her tongue out. How could she make this interesting...? "Tag! You're it!" she hit Roderich quickly before running off through the crowd.  
"Wha-!?" Roderich was left in shock. "C-Come back!" he ran off after her.  
Liz stopped for a minute to shout back to him, "Nope! Gotta catch me!" before running off in the other direction.  
"Wait up!" Roderich chased after her frustratedly.  
It took quite a bit of weaving in and out of the dancing ladies and gentlemen, diving to avoid feet, getting caught under dresses, and tripping several times before he finally caught her. And he only caught her because she took pity on him and stopped running.  
"Hah." Roderich gloated in victory, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Got you."  
"Uh-oh, I'm it!" Liz giggled.  
"What?" Roderich looked at her like she had three heads. Surely she didn't mean-  
"Better run!" She waved her hands near him for motivation of not being tagged.  
"Wha-!? Not again!" Roderich was still recovering from the last time-  
"Go!" Liz shooed him away.  
"Absolutely not! I am not running any more-" Roderich argued.  
"Fine! You can be it!" Liz tagged him and ran off again.  
"Whyy meee..." Roderich whined and stumbled after her.  
It took another ten minutes before she took pity on him again. He flopped over on the ground and sobbed, gasping for air.  
"Never- again-" he wheezed, coughing and gagging and trying to catch his breath.  
Liz sat next to him, hardly out of breath. "Geez, you don't do much, do you?"  
He took five or so minutes, closing his eyes and trying to breath. Liz just patted his head. She sat with him, trying to figure out a way to make him feel better.  
"I saved another cookie," she smiled to him, pulling a cookie out of her pants.  
He sat up and laughed, coughing a little. "That is disgusting!"  
She shrugged and just ate it, while he watched her disgustedly.  
"Anyway, I think we shouldn't run any more. Cuz you're gonna die," Liz said very matter-o-factly.  
"Good idea." Roderich got back to his feet, brushing off again, still feeling a bit sick.  
"So what now?" Liz made another pouty face. It was starting to get dark, soon it would be hard to play.  
Roderich thought for a moment... "Ah! I know! I have something to show you."  
"Ooh, okay!" Liz jumped up excitedly.  
Roderich started away from the crowd and strode out through the grounds, past all of the waltzing and gossiping partygoers in the courtyard. Liz, unsure of where exactly he was going, simply followed.  
Roderich finally settled a minute or so's way past the center of the party, in the expansive, beautifully-landscaped garden at the edge of the forest behind the mansion.  
"Wow," Liz gasped. It looked like something out of a fairytale!  
"Lovely, isn't it?" Roderich just kept walking, smiling a bit smugly. He stopped and sniffed at the roses. "Beautiful."  
Liz tried to be cool and stopped to smell the roses too. "Yick," she made a face. "They're pretty, but they don't smell too nice."  
Roderich rolled his eyes and kept on walking. "Aren't the statues beautiful too?" He stopped to admire a Greek-style sculpture in between the rose bushes.  
Liz just giggled. "She's naked and she doesn't have any arms!" she couldn't stop laughing at it!  
"Have you no appreciation for fine art!?" Roderich shot her an offended sort of look.  
"Well then." she crossed her arms.  
Rolling his eyes again, he continued over to a marble fountain at the center of the garden, seating himself on the edge beside the sparkling water. Liz slid up on the edge next to him, splashing her hand in the water.  
"Ahh! It's cold!" she pulled her hand out quickly.  
"Ugh, do be careful! You splashed me!" Roderich wiped the water off his face.  
Liz laughed at him and splashed at him again.  
"H-Hey-" he ducked for cover- ..."Wait! Hush-" Rdoerich stopped and held up a finger. "Do you hear that?"  
There was a sound of voices in the distance.  
"Ew! Grown ups! Hide-" Liz grabbed him and pulled him into the bushes.  
"Agh! Liz-" Roderich tried to fix his hair and make sure there weren't any leaves stuck in his clothes.  
"Shhh!" Liz put her finger to her mouth to hush him. "Let's spy!" she whispered, parting a hole in the bushes. Roderich whined but watched with her.  
A man with short, dark, curly hair, who was dressed rather extravagantly, wandered into the garden, holding the hand of an angry-looking woman with nearly floor-length blonde hair, who didn't bother to dress up. The man sat on the edge of the fountain like Liz and Roderich had moments before. The woman hesitated, but the man pulled her down next to him. He leaned up closer to her.  
"Ooh! Look!" Liz whispered. "Aww, I think he's gonna kiss her!"  
"That's great." Roderich didn't really care.  
"Really! Look!" she tugged on his arm and pointed at the two on the fountain. The man obviously tried, but the woman turned her head away obliviously. The man scooted closer and slid his arm around her. She glared at him and said something, but didn't pull away.  
Roderich just gave in and watched so Liz would stop bugging him about it. "...Wait a minute-" He narrowed his eyes to watch more closely.  
"Aren't they cute?" Liz gigglied as the man leaned in to kiss the woman.  
"That's not a woman, that's my grandfather!" Roderich fell back in horror.  
Liz couldn't help it- she busted out into loud obnoxious laughter. "YOUR GRANDFATHER!?" she whisper-yelled, unable to stop laughing.  
The 'woman,' or, Roderich's grandfather, pulled away and slapped the other man, before running away. The other man jumped up all hurt and yelled after him in a thick Italian accent, "Oh come on! Baby don't-a be like that, a-come back!" before running after him.  
Liz was still rolling around laughing, while Roderich sat in a shocked state of disbelief.  
"I don't believe it!" he squealed.  
"YOUR GRANDPA JUST MADE OUT WITH ANOTHER DUDE." ...As you can tell, Liz was so very sensitive to his feelings.  
"I just don't believe it." Roderich climbed out of the bushes awkwardly.  
Liz stumbled out after him, leaves and twigs in her hair. "Maybe it was just a manly chick." she suggested to cheer him up.  
"Maybe." he didn't really think so.  
"Anyhow," Liz continued, "It was sure funny."  
"Mhm." Roderich sat back on the edge of the fountain, still in shock.  
"Ahh, don't be such a sourpuss!" she splashed at him again.  
"I do declare!" He yelped and threw his arms in front of his face to block the water.  
"I do declare!?" Liz started giggling wildly again.  
"W-What?" Roderich looked all affronted.  
"I DO DECLARE!" Liz mocked, clutching her stomach and rolling back-  
"LIZ! Careful!" Roderich shouted- but too late! She laughed herself back into the fountain, making a huge splash!  
Roderich squealed. "You got me all wet!" He tried to shake some water off, all teary-eyed.  
"Aww," she got all snickery. "You look like a wet puppy!"  
"Ugh! What will my father say!?" He was so upset!  
"Oh, don't be so fussy!" she grabbed his hand-  
"NO NO NO-" but again, too late! She'd yanked him down in the fountain with her.  
Roderich came up from underwater, sputtering and gasping, with a lily pad on his head. Liz just kept on laughing.  
"What is so darn funny!" Roderich tore the lily pad off his head an threw his hand down into the water, unintentionally making a splash again.  
"Loosen up!" she pushed him teasingly, splashing at him.  
"Wha- hey!" he splashed back.  
She laughed some more, and kept hitting water toward him as if he wasn't already soaked enough. To her surprise, he actually played along. He splashed back at her, and even- gasp- laughed! She took this as a cue to dunk him under the water and mess up his perfectly styled hair. He forced his way back up gasping for air, but laughing anyway. He pushed her over and she splashed in the water again. "Hah!"  
Roderich climbed out of the fountain, making a puddle on the garden path. He tried to blow his hair up out of his eyes. Liz stumbled out of the fountain and flopped on the ground, adding to Roderich's little puddle.  
Still laughing and having a good old time, they hiked back up to they hill they had been sitting on earlier. Liz flopped back in the grass with her hands behind her head all relaxed. Roderich laid more carefully next to her, hands folded neatly across his stomach. The sun had set and the first of the stars were starting to appear, twinkling charmingly like the sequins of the ladies' dresses.  
Liz gasped and pointed up at the sky. "Look Roddy! A shooting star! Make a wish!" she closed her eyes tight and smiled, thinking of all the cupcakes and dessert tables one little girl could dream of.  
Roderich smiled to himself and closed his eyes too. He wished simply that Liz would be at his father's next party too. Maybe they would become good friends.  
"What did you wish for?" Liz asked, grinning over at him.  
Roderich sat up with her, looking away with his cheeks all red. "I- I-"  
"SHH! No, don't tell me!" she shook her head and covered her ears. "Then it can't come true!"  
"Oh! Right." he hushed up immediately.  
She sighed and stared up at the sky again. His cheeks tinted a bit redder, as carefully he slid his hand over to on top of hers. He looked away, whistling nervously. Liz just giggled and went along with it. Sh-She didn't get red or anything, though! No way!  
They sat together a while in silence, holding hands, staring up at the sky, (slowly drip-drying from the fountain incident)... before Roderich heard his father calling him from the party. "Oh! Liz, I think the party's over-" he took his hand back all embarassed and started down the hill.  
"Aww!" Liz whined. She had actually had fun...  
"Let's get goi-" but Rdoerich was cut off- Liz tackled him to the ground and they rolled down the hill together one last time.  
Roderich screamed like a little girl, and Liz laughed wildly as they tumbled to the bottom. Roderich stumbled to get to his feet a bit dizzily, chuckling slightly. Liz bounced to her feet and grabbed his hand, running and dragging him back to the party.  
"Roderich, dear, do try not to get lost next time." a very elegant woman spoke down to them with barely a glance before walking away to continue saying goodbye to the other guests.  
"Yes mother." Roderich nodded eagerly.  
When fron behind them they heard someone shout, "Elizabeta! There you are!" Her father ran over to her. "Your mother and I have been looking all over for you! Where have you been?"  
Liz smiled. "Oh I was just with a friend."  
"Why are you soaking wet...?" Her father frowned. He wasn't angry, just 'disappointed.'  
"Oh you know." she giggled enigmaticly.  
Her father just shook his head. "Don't wander off too far, dear, we'll be leaving soon."  
"Mhm!" she smiled to him, before turning back to Roderich.  
"I had a great time with you today," Roderich gave her a shy sort of smile.  
"Maybe I'll see you again sometime?" Liz smiled hopefully, taking her new friend's hand.  
"That would be delightful," Roderich grinned, his face still all red. He stood a minute, looking like he was fighting himself on something, before he leaned over quickly kissed her on the cheek. Liz held her cheek, a bit shocked.  
"I do expect we'll be having another party soon," Roderich let out all in one breath. She noticed his face was even redder than before.  
She just smiled over at him. "Why, that sounds lovely," she mocked.  
He just shook his head, watching her with that wry little smile of his.


End file.
